Daughter of Death
by Maue
Summary: Hades and Persephone finally had a child. Her name is Adalaid and she is now 17 years old. Before she can claim her title as a goddess though her parents want her to spend a year with the mortals.
1. Chapter 1

Adalaid looked up at the clock and shook her head. Her long black tresses poured in front of her face. Would noon never come? From the kitchen she could hear her grandmother and mother arguing, again.

"Persephone, why don't you just leave the girl with me? I realize that you have to go down there." The words have to were stressed by Adalaid's grandmother, Demeter.

Adalaid could hear her mother sigh. This discussion occurred every fall. "I told you mother, Hades and I decided that Adalaid should go to a mortal school this year." This Adalaid had not known. She turned so that it would be easier to hear what her mother said. "She will me given a title next summer and we want her to have some real world experience before that happens. Now Hades will be here soon. Try to be nice." With these words Demeter stormed into the living room. The goddess of hearth was neither tall nor short. She had green eyes and wore a dark plum dress to accent them. Her hair was a light brown with hints of grey. Unlike most of the gods she liked the image of ageing. Persephone fallowed her mother. The younger goddess was taller than her mother but had the same color hair. Her skin was fair but held a glow from the sun. She was wearing a yellow dress covered in daisies. The spring goddess's eyes glinted with joy at seeing her husband later that day. "Mother he is your brother. Please, please be nice."

Adalaid was growing tired of her mother's pleading and was also curios about her earlier comment. She stood up and brushed off her white shirt. "Mother what did you mean by having me go to a mortal school?" This split up the two arguing goddesses.

Persephone turned to face her daughter. "Well I wasn't going to tell you until you father arrived," She paused for a moment but was interrupted by a voice from the door behind Adalaid.

"Then it would appear to be time to tell her." Hades was a tall god. Of the original six he was the tallest. His coal black hair was shoulder length. The eyes the looked out at his realm were a shining silver, the same as his daughter's. He wore black today, as he did on most days when his wife was not with him in the underworld. "Adalaid your mother and I both think that before you decide on a title you need to spend some time in the real world. We have arranged for you to attend a school by the name of The Delphian School. It is in Oregon of the United States. You should do fine there."

What were her parents thinking? They wanted to send her to boarding school for a year. She was a goddess. She was the only child of Hades, she could trace her lineage to Zeus. "Dad my only chance to see you is over the winter. This ruins that." Maybe her parents just wanted some time alone.

Hades nodded. "I realize that we don't get as much time together as we would like. You will come ad visit though for a period in winter and in early spring so we will see each other. Then once you choose your title you can choose where you live. No one is going to force you to stay anywhere." At his last comment Hades glanced past his daughter to his sister. If she had not made such a fuss Persephone would live with him twelve months of the year not six.

It hadn't taken long to travel to Oregon. All of her bags had already been packed for going back to the underworld. Adalaid sat in the backseat as her father drove the sleek black mustang up to the school. She had to admit the school was pretty, surrounded by trees and all. That didn't change her mind she did not want top be here and here parents would pay for this.


	2. Chapter 2

Adalaid looked around her new room. It was nice with cream colored walls and a window that overlooked the surrounding forest. However, it was nothing compared to her room at home. In her Father's house Adalaid had a large room made of stone. The walls were round and mostly covered with books. Only a small opening for her wooden door and for the window that looked out on her mother's garden were not covered with stories. In front of her window was a bench with deep purple cushions. The bed, in the middle of the room, also had purple sheets. At the end of her bed was a dresser of a deep warm mahogany. On Mt. Olympus Adalaid had a room painted a warm gold with two windows looking out on a pool that it was forbidden for anyone but her to use. This pool was a gift from her uncle/ grandfather Zeus. Her bed had olive green sheets and was up against the wall with the two windows. The one of the other walls had a bookshelf, another an armoire. The final carried the door which led to her mother's room.

Adalaid sighed and placed the last of her books on the small bookcase which had already been in the room. She had also been given a bed with burgundy sheets and comforter. Next to the bed was a small table that had two drawers in it. In the top drawer Adalaid placed a stationary set that she could use to write home. More likely she would write to her friend Artemis or her friends among the centaurs. In the bottom drawer went a month's supply of nectar and ambrosia. She could survive on mortal food but she would not be able to function properly without food of the gods. On the other side of the room was a small but sturdy desk that already held a few papers of importance.

Just as Adalaid was pulling out a framed picture from a box on her bed, someone knocked on her door. Adalaid walked over and opened up the door. Outside was a girl with shoulder length curly brown hair. She was wearing a light pink skirt that was knee length with a white blouse. Her face looked delicate except for the smile which looked like it had been glued on. Then the chatter started. "Hi my name is Samantha. I have been going to Delphian since I was in third grade. I noticed that you are new here. Don't worry everyone is nice. I just know that you are going to love it here. Where did you come from? Oh pardon me what's your name?" The girl paused and cocked her head much like a cocker spaniel would when it was begging for a treat.

Adalaid blinked for a second then finally responded, "My name's Adalaid. I'm from Olympu…" Samantha interrupted before Adalaid could complete the word.

"Wow you're from Olympia. Most of the kids here are either from Portland or Seattle. Of course I have heard wonderful things about Olympia too." Samantha continued to list all of the wonderful places and events she had heard about in Washington's capital.

"Well now I have a story to give people." Thought Adalaid as her new friend continued to talk.

Samantha's next comment caught Adalaid's attention and brought her back from the realm of the mind. "Do you have your schedule ye?" Samantha finally stopped talking. It appeared that she was actually interested in this question's answer.

The sudden silenced confused Adalaid for only a second. "Uh, yeah I do. Somewhere." Adalaid turned around and glanced throughout her room. On top of the desk was a listing of the classes the Adalaid would be taking this year. The young goddess walked over and picked up the sheet. She stared at the first class on her list. It had to be wrong. Looking up she noticed that Samantha was now looking at her as if she was acting strangely. "Um, my first class is Mythology. Then I have Calculus. For third I have Latin. Then lunch. For P.E. I have Horse Skills. Then I have a free period. And I end my day with Biology."

Samantha's smile had come back full force. "Oh, we have first period together. I just know we are going to be friends." While Samantha continued to gush Adalaid sank to her desk chair. The idea of having a mythology class was insulting. These mortals would have everything wrong and she wouldn't be aloud to correct them.

A/N I don't actually know anything about the private school that I am mentioning. It is just one I found on the internet. So I apologize if I get details about it wrong. I would also like to say thank you to Kare963 and ArgentLuvzCaffeine for their reviews.


	3. Chapter 3

Adalaid walked into room 236. It was 7:30 and time for Mythology. The classroom was almost full of chattering boys and girls who all looked about the same age. The twenty some children all seemed to know one another. They tossed around names with ease and familiarity. It appeared that the two days back from summer vacation had not been long enough for everyone to catch up on summer fun.

Adalaid slowly made her way to the back of the classroom. On her left was a window. On her right a boy with longish dark brown hair. He was deep in conversation with the boy on his other side. Adalaid straitened her white shirt as she sat down. When the clock, which was two minutes behind, finally hit 7:30 a bell rang out that immediately silenced the class.

The teacher, Adalaid's schedule called her Mrs. Alston, stood up from her desk. She fit the stereotype to key. She was wearing a long grey A-line skirt under a white blouse with a black jacket. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun. Her nose could be used to steer a ship and her glasses were horn rimmed. There was no way a teacher like this was going to be fun to take mythology from. Especially when Adalaid knew it better than she did.

Mrs. Alston examined her class to see that all of the desks were full and then turned to the board. On the top she wrote THE PANTHEON. Adalaid groaned as her teacher turned around. Of course they were starting on Greek Mythology. There were hundreds of other mythologies out there but they were going to start with Greek. "Good Morning class." Mrs. Alston had a higher pitched voice. It could almost be described as whiney. "I hope you all had good summers. Now though, it is time to get to work. We are going to start this year with Greek Mythology. While I expect that many of you already know the basics, throughout this section we will go into many more details. Today we are going to start with the Greeks creation myth. As I tell it to you please write down a family tree. I am going to collect this tree at the end of the section. For every god, goddess, or creature that we discussed that you are missing I will doc you a point." Mrs. Alston turned around again and started to write THE TITONS on the board. At this point there was a mad shuffle as every one in the class pulled out a piece of paper.

Adalaid continued to ignore the story of how the evil titan Cronus swallowed his children and then Zeus tricked him into spitting them up. Blah. Blah. Blah. Zeus saves the day. Her Family tree was well beyond where they had finished at the end of Mrs. Alston's story. Of course it was her family tree. Adalaid had heard the creation story from each of the six original gods. Five of them agreed on what had happened. The sixth, Zeus, agreed with Mrs. Alston's story. The real story was almost the same, except for the fact that Zeus had nothing to do with saving his siblings. It was all Rhea's doing.

Five minutes before the bell would ring and release them from first hour Mrs. Alston ended her tale and told the class to start working on their trees. The boy next to Adalaid looked over and stared at her completed tree. "Wow that looks really good."

Adalaid, who had been staring out the window for ten minutes, jumped. "Oh, uh, thanks. I um, have just always found this stuff interesting. My parents signed me up for this class or I would have picked something else. I doubt I will learn much on Greek Mythology."

The boy smiled. She could see that he was close to laughing by the sparkle in his eye. "Well then it is a good thing for you that we will be studying other beliefs as well. Most of us are here because of the controversy. Oh, I'm sorry my name is Peter. You're new right?"

Adalaid couldn't help it, Peter's smile was contagious. "What controversy? And Yeah I'm new. My name is Adalaid." She held out her hand. Just as the two of them shook hands the bell rang.

"What class do you have?" Peter looked down as Adalaid pulled out her schedule to check for herself. "What do you know I have Calc with you too. I'll tell you about the controversy on the way there." The two of them slid between desks and joined the river of students that were working their way to second hour. "You see Mrs. Alston is an atheist and she wanted to put Christianity in with the other Mythologies. Only the school board freaked out. They said she was off her rocker. The school could be accused of trying to corrupt students or something. So to try and support her all of the seniors signed up for mythology for English." Well that explained why Adalaid's parents had signed her up for the class. Her dad would have loved the idea of supporting a teacher who was trying to go against the norm.

The rest of the day went with out any problems and Adalaid was finally able to collapse in her bed. She could remember roughly seven people's names. There was Samantha, the talkative girl with the glue smile. Peter was nice and had her first two classes. Jamie hated being here because she felt it was too small. Alan couldn't wait for snow so that he could go skiing. Dione was worried about her grandmother who was ill. Tom was in love with Samantha although Adalaid couldn't understand that. And last but not least Ray had five tattoos. Mortals were interesting people. Adalaid took a sip of nectar and began her first letter home.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Alright you win. This place is interesting. I hate my Mythology class though. Thank you for signing my up for the horse class. I love getting to spend time with them. How is Cerbi? Oh, dad is a woman by the name of Angi Mayburry about to visit? Her granddaughter is worried about her. I miss you guys.

Adalaid

She walked over to the window and called out. An owl came flying over. Of course it would be one of Athena's messenger's who came. "Can you take this to my parents, or to some one who can?" The owl nodded and flew of holding the note. Adalaid looked around her room. "Well one day is done. Only 179 left."


	4. Chapter 4

Oatmeal was a boring meal no matter how much you added to it. It didn't help Adalaid's mood that it was raining. It had been raining on and off for two weeks now. She had completed her first month of school. As Adalaid sighed, continuing to stir her lifeless oatmeal, Peter sat down across from her. "Hey Adda." It was Samantha, or Sami as she preferred to be called, who had created the nickname. No mater how many times Adalaid said that she did not appreciate the nickname her new friends continued to call her it. Only Peter ever used her real name. He would call her Adda when he first approached her, to tick her off, and then say Adalaid during their conversation if her needed to say her name.

She looked up and smiled at the boy. He was wearing a long sleeve blue shirt and jeans. "Well someone color coordinates." He looked himself up and down and laughed. Peter tried to respond but due to his mouthful of oatmeal it came out no clearer than the mush in Adalaid's bowl. "Actually I believe in a proper conversation you are then supposed to say something in response. If you need ideas you could try and say something about my outfit." Adalaid waved a hand over her green shirt and jeans.

"What are we teaching Peter how to act civilized?" Dione had arrived at the table. She had tied her curly black hair back into a pony tail. She was wearing a red shirt and a grey skirt. The outfit flattered her brown eyes and skin.

She was fallowed closely by Ray. "Ooh that sounds fun. Let me help." Ray had recently died his hair so that it was as bright has Dione's shirt. Today it was spiked. His shirt was black and turned inside out. He had likely already been caught by Mrs. Crocket who had made it her life goal to prevent any student to wear clothing that so much as hinted as having a drug reference on it. Adalaid knew for a fact that Ray's shirt said "Get High On Life" in red letters.

By this time Peter had managed to contain his laughter and swallow his spoonful of oatmeal. "Yeah, as if you would be much help Ray. Your average conversation consists of fine, sure, whatever, or but Mrs. Crocket." Peter's impersonation of the last three words was perfect of every time that Ray got caught with anything contraband, which was regular. "Oh, hey Sami, Tom."

Adalaid turned around and smiled and the two. Tom looked jittery as usual. It simply wasn't possible for him to be in Sami's presence with beginning to shiver. If she ever actually stopped talking long enough she would realize something was wrong. Lucky for him it was imposable for Sami to stop talking unless a teacher was talking. Sami was wearing a variation of her normal uniform, pressed white blouse and grey skirt. The blouses changed color but they were all the same style and all either white or pastel. Her skirts were all at least close to grey and were the same length, just passed the knee.

Behind these two was the only pair of Adalaid's friends who were actually dating. Jamie and Alan. This was apparently the second year that they had been going out. The couple looked very similar. Both had blond hair. Both were carrying a white sweater. Alan was wearing Khaki pants while Jamie was wearing a grey skirt. Both had blue shirts. It was scary that they always managed to do this.

Peter leaned across the table and whispered to Adalaid, "Is it just me or did they actually dress differently today." Now it was her turn to start laughing. Luckily she had not had a bite of oatmeal in her mouth. The rest of breakfast went quickly and all too soon Adalaid was walking up to Mrs. Alston's mythology class with her friends. Peter had been right; all of the seniors were in the class. Over all it was Adalaid's largest class.

On Friday they had finished Poseidon, who had fallowed Zeus in the Pantheon line up. The words written on the blackboard would have caused Adalaid to freeze, if she wasn't being pushed by her friends. HADES AND THE UNDERWORLD. There was no way that it was already time to discus her parents. This was going to be horrible. Mrs. Alston would go on about how horrible her father was for stealing her mother, when in fact the two had just eloped. Of course at that point in time the idea of eloping was almost as bad as kidnapping.

Peter looked at his friend worried. She had been laughing at breakfast but know she was slumped in her chair and staring out the window. He didn't understand why Adalaid hated mythology so bad. It was one of his favorite classes. The idea that people had believed in gods who took such an interest in the world was a foreign principal to him. In his mind, if there was a god, he was distant and neutral to the feelings of humankind. Prayers and offerings would get you no where. He was about to ask what was wrong when Mrs. Alston began.

"There is only one main myth involving Hades. Of course I believe that you know by now who he is. We covered that with the creation. So the myth goes that as lord of the underworld he was very lonely. So some days, when not many people were dieing, he would come to the surface and watch a pretty young goddess as she danced in a meadow near the entrance to his home. One of these days while he was watching her he was hit by one of Eros's magical arrows. We will cover Eros's history when we cover Aphrodite. Of course the first woman that Hades saw was the beautiful young goddess. Well he returned to his homeland only long enough to grab his chariot. He knew that if he was going to grab her he would need to be fast. With his best mounts hitched to the chariot he rode back to the surface. Once there he flew out onto the meadow. This created a great earthquake. Now it is possible that the Greeks used this myth to explain as well for some ancient destructive force. Well once he was in the meadow he grabbed the young meadow and pulled her down into his realm." Here Mrs. Alston turned to the board and wrote PERSEPHONE.

While Mrs. Alston was busy Peter thought he heard Adalaid mumble something that sounded slightly like, "Liar."

Once she was done on the board Mrs. Alston turned around and continued with the myth. "I will talk about what was going on, on Earth when we get to Demeter. Now at first Persephone hated living in the Underworld. She would wander around in silence and despair." At this Adalaid coughed. That wasn't the picture she had gotten of her parent's first days. "Finally in to quench her starvation Persephone ate six seeds from a pomegranate. It wasn't long after this that her mother discovered where she was. This caused a upheaval among the gods. Some felt that Persephone should remain with Hades. Others thought she should be returned to her mother. The decision was finally given to Zeus who decided that Persephone would spend six months of the year with her mother and six with Hades." Mrs. Alston's smile grew crooked in preparation for her next comment. "For the six months that Persephone is with Hades all plants would die. So in other words the goddess of spring is currently with her husband. Well you can have the last few minutes to flesh out your trees."

Adalaid scowled. That was not at all how her parent's marriage occurred. She had heard the story from many people. The two had fallen in love, not due to Eros's bow. Her dad had then approached Demeter about marrying Persephone. Demeter had refused. The young couple was in love though and they refused to take no for an answer. They were married by Aphrodite and then ran away to the underworld. Adalaid's mother had actually eaten much more than six pomegranate seeds. Those seeds were just the only ones witnessed by Demeter. After Demeter went crying to him, Zeus gave the ruling that declared Persephone was to spend six months above ground and six below. Apparently Hades had started to spend more time on Mt. Olympus after that. Also their first days together had apparently been very romantic.

"What's wrong Adalaid?" Peter was concerned. His friend only looked worse now that the lesson was over.

She forced a smile onto her face. "I just don't like that version of the story. I have heard quite a few different tellings. My favorite gives Persephone more personality." Adalaid's comment did not appear to lesson Peter's worry. "I don't think the oatmeal agreed with me." Peter's gaze finally softened and he looked away. Out of the mortal friends that Adalaid had made he was defiantly the closest. She looked out the window again and saw something strange at the edge of the trees. It looked like one of the horses was loose. She was about to say something when she realized that it was not a horse but a centaur. Adalaid shot up straight. What was one of them doing here? The half horse disappeared even with her close examination.

By Lunch the rain had stopped and Adalaid's horsemanship teacher, Mr. Hoostok, said that the class was going to have a special treat. So long as they stayed on the special trails marked with orange ribbon the students in the upper level could go where they wanted. This meant Adalaid and three others were free to wander around. She saddled and mounted the mare that she had been assigned to. The dappled grey mare was a sweat old hag in Adalaid's opinion. Ray was also among the upper level. He had a sorrel mare to ride. "So do you want to lead?" While Ray was very independent he could get lost in the forest incredibly easily. This had been proven when he had managed to get half of a train of horses separated from the first half earlier in the year.

Adalaid smiled. "I'd love to." She kicked her horse and started off towards where she had seen the centaur. If he was still out there she wanted to at least start contact. She had always been on good terms with the centaurs.

A/N I forgot to insert my thank you to Kare963 in my last chapter and I just wanted to insert that here. I also want to say thank you to those who have added my story among their favorites. Also in case you don't know horse colorings sorrel means they are all red, mane tail, and coat.


	5. Chapter 5

"Uh, Adda, I think we're lost." Ray was trying desperately to see past Adalaid. Truth be told she was completely ignoring the path marked out by orange ribbons and had left it five minutes ago. She wanted to find the centaurs.

Adalaid turned around in her saddle placing her left hand on her horse's rear. "Don't worry Ray. I know exactly where we are. Do you really think I would get us lost before I have Biology?" Her grin glowed pure innocence. It was a look she had mastered from her mother.

Ray rolled his eyes. "No duh. You would choose to get lost before either Mythology or Biology. Seriously what is it with you and ologies?" He threw his hands in the air with his last statement. This was the wrong movement. Ray's mare may have been old but this if anything made her more skittish. The sudden movement scared her. It didn't help that at the same time an arrow flew past her head and into a tree behind her. "Whoa girl. Come on whoa girl." Ray's voice was approaching falsetto as he lost control of his horse.

Adalaid turned her mare around and slowly inched her foreword. Unlike Ray, she had seen the arrow. The centaurs were near. "Ray if you calmed down your voice she would calm down too. Also try and hold your arms still." It was too late. The sorrel took off in a direction that Adalaid knew would lead to the stables. For a moment Adalaid was alone in the oppressive forest.

The trees seamed to lean in closer and closer. Dark evergreen branches reaching out to take her from her mount. "Don't even think about it." She mumbled either to the trees or her imagination. "I am a goddess of Olympus and the Underworld. If you are here come forth." This she called out to the hidden centaurs who had fired at Ray. A small crunch was her only warning to the three centaurs that walked onto the path. The largest had a black horses body that would reach to the top of her head when she was standing. His human torso was tanned even in this dense forest. He had deep chocolate eyes and long black hair. All of the centaurs' hair reached their horse backs. The smallest centaur was also male. His horse body was white. At the withers he would reach just below Adalaid's shoulder. His skin was as pale as an albino. When he looked Adalaid in the eye she realized that he was. His eyes were pink and his hair was the lightest tint of blond she had ever seen. The third centaur was female. Her body was a bay's chocolate brown. Her skin had a slight tan, although not as dark as the first centaur. While her tail was black her hair was curly and light brown. Her eyes were vibrant green. Over her chest she wore a leather vest artfully sown from what looked like deer hide.

It was the first of the centaurs that spoke first. He had a deep voice that seemed to shake the smaller branches on the surrounding trees. "You say you are a goddess of Olympus, why then are you here? It is a long way from your home great one." He bowed his human torso to show his respect to a goddess. Adalaid may not have her title yet but she was still a goddess of rank.

Adalaid straightened her posture on her old mare. "Before I answer your questions you will answer mine. Who are you? How many of you live here." Then with a smirk creeping on to her face Adalaid continued. "And isn't this a little far from your homeland?"

The female chuckled and stepped foreward. "Do not mind Raji. We have simply not been visited by any gods or goddess in so long. My name is Dalma and this is Viss." Raji scowled as Dalma said the trio's names. Viss however, smiled and nodded his head to each name. "We are the only ones who live here. We have sensed that you were here and have been trying to pull you out here." She smiled and nodded to Adalaid bowing just as Raji had.

Adalaid considered this. Although centaurs were half horse they did not generally live in large herds. This was actually a normal sized grouping. "Well you answered my questions, mostly, so I shall answer yours. My name is Adalaid. I am the daughter of Persephone and Hades. To prepare me the choosing of my title my parents have decided that it would be best for me to spend some time among mortals." All three centaurs nodded at the names of her parents. Raji scowled when she said why she was here. Dalma smiled a warm gentle smile. Viss grinned from ear to ear.

The white centaur stepped foreword. "Well welcome to our little corner of Oregon. Is this not a splendid little forest? Any time you want to come out feel free to join us in a run."

Adalaid smiled at the idea of trying to keep up with these three on her old school horse. "I have one more question, and please don't be offended it is just that I have always been interested in centaur culture, who among you leads your herd?"

Viss and Dalma smiled as they glanced at each other and then answered in unison, "Raji." Dalma then continued as the largest centaur lowered his head. "He is the oldest of the three of us. Also Raji is my partner." Adalaid smiled as she watched Dalma snake her arms up and around Raji's neck. Raji seemed uncomfortable by the display in front of her. At the same time though she felt a small twinge that she could not identify.

Adalaid glanced at the mortal watch that she had started wearing, now that she had to be places based on their bells. She had five minutes before class was over. "Crap. I hate to leave you guys but I need to return to school. I promise that I will come back. And I need you three to promise not to hurt any humans." All three centaurs nodded to her request. With their agreement Adalaid turned her mare and took off at a fast trot. She arrived back at the stables just as the bell rang. Her teacher was helping one of the eighth graders finish brushing his horse. She managed to sneak into the stables and unsaddle her mare. It was lucky that she had fifth period free.

Adalaid sat in the library staring out the window. It was a strange idea that in a place as normal as this hints of her home were still available. The centaurs were a pleasant surprise. She had always loved centaurs. They combined her love for horses with her outspokenness. They never minded if you spoke your mind. In fact that was what they preferred. She had gained the love of horses from her father. Hade's stable was full of black horses. Some were trained to pull his onyx chariot. Others were for racing. Still others were perfect for a leisurely ride through the Elysian Fields.

Adalaid sighed. She hated not telling her friends what she was. They were all so kind to just accept her especially since they had known one another since Kindergarten. It only made her feel worse to lie to them. Thanks to Sami interrupting her on the first day everyone thought that Adalaid was from Olympia, Washington. Apparently it was the capital of the state and was very beautiful.

Adalaid turned around as she heard a commotion behind her. A girl who Adalaid did not know was jumping up and down. The boy in front of her was holding a bouquet of roses. The girl was saying over and over, "Yes, yes, yes." It was rather annoying. She stood up and walked over to join the circle that was forming around the couple. Leaning into the girl next to her Adalaid asked "What is going on? Did he propose or something?"

The girl chuckled. "John just asked Lauren to Homecoming. Well it isn't really Homecoming seeing as we don't have a football team but the school still lets us have the dance. We are having it really late this year." The blond haired girl turned to her friends and started giggling.

Adalaid walked back over to her desk. Her thoughts had been successfully torn away from the centaurs. "What the heck was Homecoming? Why was it so special? Is it a ritual all mortals have, or is it just this school?" Questions buzzed through her head. She was going to have to bring this up at dinner.

Dinner that night was grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Once their entire group was sitting down Adalaid decided it was time to get answers for some of her questions. "What is Homecoming?" Peter, who was sitting next to Adalaid, spat out the mouthful of soup he had just taken in. Jamie and Alan started to giggle. Tom looked down at his half eaten sandwich and pushed the plate away.

It was Sami who answered the question. "You mean you don't know?"

Although it was amazing that Sami was giving her time to answer Adalaid wished for once that Sami had just gone on with the answer. "I was home schooled, remember? I have the over protective parents. I barely had any communication with any one under thirty." It was all true if you added the word grand before parents.

Sami shook her head. "Homecoming is a big dance that is held every year. Most schools do it after their football team plays a home game relatively early in the season. Seeing as we don't have a team we do it whenever. Basically it is a chance for everybody to dress up and have fun." Sami then went on into every detail she could remember from last year's Homecoming.

Peter had cleaned up his spilled soup during Sami's lecture. Now that she was droning he turned to Adalaid. "Homecoming isn't that big of a, um, dea,l but I um, well, was wondering if you might want to um, gowithme."

It took Adalaid a second to realize that the last thing Peter had said was go with me. Of course then Dione entered the conversation. "Shut up Sami. In case you didn't hear Peter just asked Adda out." She turned to Ray to finish her comment. "I told you he was straight, pay up."

Peter's face could not have been any redder. Adalaid smiled and leaned foreword. "I would love to go to Homecoming with you. Would you mind explaining it a little more to me later?" Peter nodded and sunk in his seat. Adalaid turned to see what her friends were now talking about. Sami was talking again about previous year's homecomings. Tom was stirring his soup in silent misery. Jamie and Alan were whispering to themselves over some small detail. Alan had likely already asked Jamie to Homecoming. Ray and Dione were arguing whether or not Peter was straight. Dione was adamant that he was while Ray was trying to save his ten dollars by saying that Peter might by Bi.

Adalaid stood up and was quickly fallowed by Peter. She turned to him. "I was going to go to the library. I have a lot of homework to do."

Peter smiled. "I'll join you there I just have to solve something first." The blush was slowly leaving his face as he walked over and stopped between Dione and Ray. He leaned down and gave Dione a quick peck on the cheek. "Sorry Ray," he started looking at his friend, "but I just don't swing that way." The entire table started to laugh.

Adalaid shook her head and left going to the library. She had at least an hour's worth of Biology to finish. It was already clear to her that she did not want to be the goddess of Biologists.


	6. Chapter 6

The library was comfortable, warm. No matter how many extra lamps the librarians added it would never be bright in here. The room was simply in the wrong place for windows. The walls were a deep burgundy, although you could only see the top rim of them thanks to the many bookcases that filled the room. In the center of the large room was the round librarians' desk. It was actually multiple desks that had been pushed together to form a box so that the three librarians could sit inside of it and watch the entire library at one. Circling them were twenty desks for students to work at. Then came the forests of books. It was here that Adalaid felt the most comfortable. In this vast room she felt like she could be in the Underworld's library. The only difference was that Hade's library was much larger than any mortal could dream of.

Adalaid walked to a desk on the edge of the ring nodding to acknowledge a librarian's greeting. She sat down and pulled out her notebook and Biology book from her book bag. Steadily she quested through her notes and the chapter for the correct answers to the questions on cell division. Her parents had thought to sign her up for Biology because she loved animals. Well at least it was better than Mythology.

Adalaid shook out a cramp in her neck with only one question left to go. The librarian who had waved at her earlier was working her way through the desks. Adalaid put down her pencil and watched the elderly woman come over. "Hello dear. I am sorry to tell you but it is time to go to bed. You are just going to have to finish your homework tomorrow." The old woman's smile was regretful but Adalaid could see sleep in her eyes.

She smiled and stood up picking up her book. As Adalaid placed everything into her bag she turned to the librarian. "I'm sorry I guess I didn't notice what time it was." Alright so she had had more than an hour's worth of Biology. She would finish it during her free period tomorrow. Adalaid pulled her bag onto her shoulder and turned to the door. She attempted to stifle a yawn but then decided to just let it go, no one was around after all.

Adaliad stopped as she was walking down the hallway. The night was dark outside. She stared out the window next to her. Of course the centaurs wouldn't have a fire. It went against their culture to have a fire at night. Something about mortals were never meant to have fire and so they would not use it when they had the stars to light their way. This meant that all of their food had to be cooked while their was daylight.

Tonight though, it was overcast with a storm promised for tomorrow. Adalaid had grown to love the storms here. Without having to deal with Zeus thunder and lightning became much more enjoyable. "I wonder if it will storm on Homecoming?" Adalaid giggled at the thought. Now she knew she was tired, she never giggled.

Adalaid finally made it to her room and pulled out her stationary.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Guess What? I got asked to Homecoming. It is this mortal dance, which basically a ball. Don't freak out Dad the guy is really nice. It was Peter who asked me out. I know that I told you guys about him. Anyway I was wondering if I could borrow my dress from the naming party of Hera's baby. From what I have heard of Homecoming dresses it would fit.

I love you both

Adalaid

P.S. My Mythology teacher knows nothing.

Adalaid smiled. The post script had been the same on every letter she had sent since her second week here. Yawning Adalaid opened her window and called out. A large barn owl flew over and cocked its head. This seemed to be the owl that was around the most often. As long as Athena didn't mind Adalaid borrowing the bird everything was fine. She handed off the letter and watched as the bird flew off. Adalaid glanced at her clock and moaned. 12:01. The alarm was set to 5:00. Tomorrow would not be fun. Adalaid decided to skip changing and just lay down. She pulled her blanket on top of her. The thing she missed the most from home was having Cerberus sleep on her bed with her every night. When she was on Olympus she would steal one of Apollo's hunting dogs and sleep with them.

Five o' clock hit far too early. Adalaid set her alarm so early so that she was the first to use the showers and could still have hot water. She groaned as she rolled out of bed. Standing up Adalaid made her way to her closet. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt. Quickly she grabbed everything else she would need to get ready for the day and headed to the showers. The halls were still silent in this early hour. Adalaid stepped into the bathroom and turned on the light. A million lamps seemed to reflect of the tile directly into her eyes. Blinking Adalaid walked over to the nearest shower. She didn't take long to get clean but by the time she was done three more girls had entered the shower. Among them was Sami.

"Adda! You and Peter left dinner so quickly yesterday, why I have so many questions to ask you. By the way that was a perfect way to hint to him that you wanted to go. For most guys that is the issue, does she even want to go? Were you expecting him to ask? Oh did you hear? Ray asked Dione. I guess he got jealous over Peter kissing her and just asked. Well the two of us were going to go shopping for dresses. I am going to Homecoming by myself but that is another story. Well." Samantha seemed to say all of this in one breath.

Adalaid smiled. "I hadn't heard about Dione and Ray. I would love to go with the two of, only I already have a dress. I got it for another occasion and it will work for this perfectly. My parents are going to send it over. If it is ok I would still like to go with you two." Adalaid started to brush her hair as she talked. She was amazed that she was being allowed to speak for so long.

Samantha never lost her grin as she took a deep breath and then, "Of course you can still come. We always need someone to say what looks good or not, an impartial observer. Guys suck at that of course."

Then Samantha was back on the topic of Homecoming. Adalaid managed to sneak away once Sami stepped into the shower. It was six o' clock when she reached her room again. She had been talking to Sami longer than she thought. Adalaid packed her bag full of the books she would need before lunch. Leisurely she walked down to breakfast. Peter was already sitting at the table their group had claimed in the first week. He looked up and smiled. "Hey Adda. I uh hope I didn't bother you by asking you out in front of everyone."

Adalaid smiled down at him at sat next to her friend. "Why would it bother me?" She reached foreword and grabbed a piece of toast that sat on a plate in the middle of the table. This was the other reason she got up early, all of the food was still hot.

Peter was blushing. There was something about Adalaid that made her different from other girls. She just didn't see certain things that other girls assumed. It was shocking being around her. "Well I just know that some girls want to be asked privately or in some creative way." Peter swallowed. He really didn't want to screw up this relationship before they had gone on a single date.

Adalaid finished chewing her bite of toast and smiled at Peter. "Don't worry. It didn't bother me in the least." She would have continued but Ray and Dione arrived at the table then. Ray once again had his shirt turned inside out while Dione wore an orange dress.

Ray smiled at the questioning looks from Peter and Adalaid. "I figured that I might as well beat Mrs. Crocket to it. This is the one that says live on the edge." Adalaid and Peter both nodded. Dione was shaking her head. Underneath the harmless words that Ray had just mentioned was a picture of a needle with a silhouette of a man standing on the edge.

The rest of the group slowly arrived and conversation turned to the upcoming dance. Apparently it was tradition for Sami, Jamie, and Dione to go dress shopping. Only this year Jamie wouldn't be going thanks to an expedition into Portland with her mother. This was why Adalaid was being invited along.

Peter, Sami, and Adalaid worked their way to Mythology after finally convincing Ray not to flash his shirt at Mrs. Crocket. Today it appeared they were going to learn about Demeter. "Oh, joy." Adalaid mumbled to herself. She pulled out her family tree and an extra piece of paper so that it would look like she was taking notes while she daydreamed.

Half way through the story of how Demeter reacted when "Persephone was brutally kidnapped," Peter tapped Adalaid on the shoulder. It was easy to pass notes when you sat in the back of the room Adalaid quickly discovered.

"Looking foreward to going dress shopping?" Said Peter's first note. When Adalaid glanced up at her friend she saw a very sarcastic smile.

She responded simple, "I already have a dress, but it will still be fun." Peter's expression changed to one of curiosity.

"What does it look like? I need to know the color for when I get my tux." He was truly grinning now. Only looking away to make sure Mrs. Alston wasn't watching them.

Adalaid blushed. The dress was one Aphrodite had made for her for the naming celebration of Hera's youngest child. It was a deep green sleeveless dress. The thin straps pulled the dress up from its low cut in the front and its low cut in the back. Right under the chest was a black ribbon which tied into a bow on the left side. The dress had a slight slit also on the right side which allowed the gold under skirt to be visible. "Its green" She might as well shock him. Adalaid thought to herself.

Peter smiled when he read the note. "Green is my favorite color." He wrote back. Adalaid was about to respond when the bell rang. What was she getting herself into?


	7. Chapter 7

The entire group decided to go and study in the library after dinner. It was possible to see the librarians groan as their group walked in. Ray and Dione were arguing over some insignificant detail just so that they could be talking. Jamie and Alan were talking about last year's tennis team. Adalaid didn't know much about the sport but the two of them loved it. Samantha was wearing out poor Tom's ears by talking about how she was going to fail Biology. Peter was leading the way to the same table Adalaid had sat at yesterday. The group randomly pulled over chairs until there were three more than necessary. This was largely due to Ray.

Books were spread every which way and the conversation slowly switched over to school subjects. Everyone had at least one topic they needed help for. Sadly Sami needed help in Mythology. "Come on Adda. You already know everything that she's talking about. Please help me." Adalaid rolled her eyes. Helping Sami could turn into suicide.

"You have to promise not to interrupt." Sami nodded her head but didn't utter a peep. "O.K. lets see your family tree." Sami pulled out a complicated family tree that contained many crisscrossed lines. "Well here's your problem. If you redraw this so that the lines don't cross it will make more sense. Why don't you look at mine?" Adalaid pulled out her own tree and handed it over. She then turned to Tom to ask for help with Biology.

Adalaid yawned for the third time in a row and leaned across the table to see what time it was on Peter's watch. Dione smiled. "You know what, Adda is right. It is really late guys. Lets pack up." Adda smiled at her friend and grabbed her Biology book. Cell division still didn't make sense but what the heck. It was time she write home and ask for help. Although who would be best, she didn't know. Maybe her grandmother, Demeter?

"Hey Adalaid. Are you all right?" Peter had grabbed her shoulder. He looked worried. Adalaid certainly got a good look at him from this angle. Peter was very handsome, Adalaid had decided. True, he was nothing in comparison to her friends and cousins on Mt. Olympus, but a god is a god.

"Yeah, I am just starting to miss my family. I write them a frequently but it is not the same as being home." It was always easier to smile when Peter was looking at her.


	8. Chapter 8

The Homecoming theme was "Love is a Rose" or "the King or Cheese" as Ray was calling it. Adalaid was glad that her entire group was going as a group. At six o'clock Peter arrived at her and Sami's room. He looked wonderful in a tux, except for the fact that he could stop from staring at her. Adalaid blushed as she heard Ray start to yell from outside the door, "Come on if your girl looks that good let us all see."

A fire of red ran into Peter's face and he held out his arm. He was wearing a traditional tuxedo with an emerald vest. "You look beautiful. And I didn't mean to stare."

Adalaid could feel her face growing hotter. Somehow the dress had felt normal when worn on Olympus, probably because she was one of the more covered females there. "Don't worry I took it as a compliment." Adalaid looked around at her friends to see how they were dressed. Sami was wearing a full length purple taffeta gown. It was beautiful but reminded one some sort of dessert. Dione was wearing a strapless bright orange dress that came to just above her knee. And Jamie was wearing a very elegant black dress that showed off some of her back. All of the boys were wearing tuxes except for Ray who, in his classical manner, was wearing a shirt with a tuxedo printed on it.

The cafeteria had been decorated to look like a giant rose garden. The effect was impressive. "Mom would love this." Peter looked down at Adalaid when he heard her mumble.

He smiled. "The dance or the decorations?" She just smiled up at him as the two stepped out onto the dance floor. She had been taught how to dance long ago. Since not many people had arrived yet it was easy to dance the classical dances she knew. Adalaid was only lucky that Peter knew them as well.

Around eight the party started to pick up. The illusion of the rose garden was shattered as the school blasted popular songs across a temporary dance floor. Adalaid paused as the music shifted to a soft slow melody. Peter gently wrapped his arms around her waist. She had to admit she was confused. This didn't have the right melody for a waltz. Glancing around Adalaid saw many other girls in similar positions only they had placed their arms around their partners' necks. Adalaid copied her models and leaned into Peter.

Dancing slowly in circles Adalaid forgot that she didn't want to be at this school. She for got that she hated all of this and just wanted to go home. This was the first time she truly had friends who understood her, well what they knew of her. Adalaid slowly let her eyes close. And then shot them open. Over in the corner, next to the door was a tall man in black. Adalaid knew that man. He had long white hair and looked far too skinny for his age. Charon. What in all the Underworld was he doing at Homecoming?


	9. Chapter 9

Adalaid had to stay calm. If Peter realized that she was freaking out he would blame herself. It helped that on her next spin around the dance floor Charon was gone. Looking up at Peter helped her calm down enough to at least be able to fake still enjoying herself. Although she moaned with everyone else, Adalaid was secretly happy when the dance finally ended. She needed to get in contact with her father. Why was he spying on her?

Peter had his arm around Adalaid's waist as he walked her back up to her room. The two were walking slowly so they became separated from the crowd. Adalaid was so caught up in her discussion of music with Peter that she didn't notice anyone behind her until her father's unmistakable voice boomed out. "Hello Adalaid."

She froze, pulling Peter with her. "What is it Adalaid?" Peter was looking down at her questioningly. Had he not heard her father?

Adalaid looked behind her. Hades was defiantly there. He was leaning against the wall, a smirk on his face. For now he was wearing a blue robe. "Well won't you introduce me Adalaid?" With these words Hades seemed to push himself off of the wall. Peter noticed the god with this motion and spun around, releasing Adalaid.

Adalaid looked down at her feet. Damn Aphrodite for this dress. "Peter this is my father. Dad this is Peter, be nice."

Hades's smirk was replaced by a small frown. "Ah but he is more than that isn't he Adalaid?" He took a step closer.

Peter placed his arm back around Adalaid's waist. "What's going on Adalaid?"

She wasn't going to get out of this now. "Ok Peter, my dad spies on me. Creepy, I know, but it's kind of a family trait. And Dad, you know very well that Peter and I are dating. I wrote you and told you. Plus I know Charon will have told you." If everything came out tonight and Peter figured out who her family was, well at least she could blame her father.

Hades was smiling. "Oh, yes I knew that. I just wanted you to tell me to my face. Honesty is so very important. Your mother and I learned that when we were married. I am just here to see how much you cared for him." Here he paused. Hades didn't really want to give his next bit of news. Well they boy would know too much very quickly he might as well dive in. "My brother has decided it is time for you to take your post among the family. I have tried to delay him but it can not be done, especially since you just had to wear that dress tonight." Oh the poor boy must be very confused.

Adalaid blushed. What did her father mean about the dress? Sure her Aunt Aphrodite had made it but, ohhhh. Damn this dress. Aphrodite must have put some sort of love something into the dress. "Please tell me Uncle Z hasn't decided on my position yet?"

Hades was about to respond when Peter interjected. "Ok I have no clue what the heck is going on. But shouldn't Adaliad finish high school? I mean how can you expect her to have some part in your family business without a diploma?"

Hades's smile grew as he walked foreword. He slowly placed a hand on Adalaid's left shoulder and Peter's right shoulder. "Let me show you."

Adalaid looked around. She was back home.


	10. Chapter 10

To make matters worse, Peter was here too in the entryway to the underworld. "Ok dad if you don't explain I will and then have you explain the parts I am fuzzy on."

Hades laughed. He had a deep bass laugh that echoed in the large hall. "Welcome Peter to the Underworld. My kingdom. I am Hades god of wealth and lord of the dead. And let me introduce you to my wife."

Persephone had walked in while Hades had made his introduction. She was wearing a pink dress with roses embroidered on it. "Hello my name is Persephone. Hades really should have brought you strait to our house. It is far more welcoming that this."

Adalaid turned to look at Peter. His jaw had dropped. In all he looked like he was about to die. "So um, yeah, the reason I knew so much about Greek mythology, which was not a fun class," Adalaid turned and glared at her parents, "was because it is my history. It's all true. Zeus is real and far more annoying then you could believe. Don't even get me going on the incest it just gets confusing at family reunions on what you are supposed to call people." Adalaid stopped grabbing her arm and looking away. The sight of her father, who was as normal standing next to her mother, reminded her, "What did Aunt Aphrodite do to my dress?"

Hades started to laugh again as Persephone answered the question. "She cast a spell on it so that she would know if you wore the dress while you were around your true love. That's why your father sent Charon to watch you. Aphrodite contacted us saying the spell had gone off." Persephone paused and looked up at Hades. "Last winter Zeus told us that you would claim your title either in the summer we are now approaching, or when you met your true love. Which ever came first. So now you must choose a title."

Adalaid stared at her parents. She took a step away from Peter and looker around her. She loved the Underworld. They were currently in the great stone entry way. It was the first room that the dead saw once Charon released them. Behind her she could hear the river Styx faintly. She couldn't see the ceiling; it was so far above her but a faint light seemed to radiate from the elegantly carved walls. Behind her parents were two exits. One led to the judgment room, the other to her father's home. "But I'm not ready. I don't know what my title should be. And and" Adalaid was looking for words as her breath tumbled out of her. "I want to stay on earth. I liked it there. I have friends now."

Persephone hurried over to her daughter's side. Hades fallowed more languidly. "It's all right my dear. Once the council starts meeting it will be weeks before a final decision is made on your title. You don't need to know now." Persephone wrapped her arms around Adalaid and started to croon.

Peter shuffled his feet. He had been left alone and was beginning to feel uncomfortable. "Um I hate to interrupt but," Hades, Persephone, and Adalaid all looked up at the still somewhat shocked mortal. "What the heck is going to happen to me and how am I getting home?" He stepped closer to the small family hesitated and stepped again. "I still care about you Adalaid, no matter what you are," He couldn't keep his eyes from scanning the great hall. "But I know my parents will be worried about me as soon as the school contacts them."

Hades turned towards Peter. "We can take care of the school and your parents. They won't even realize that you are gone." A cruel smirk appeared on his face. "I am a god after all." Peter practically fell back to the position he had stood in earlier.

Persephone slapped her husband gently on the arm. "Be nice, you're scaring him. Why don't you both come in and have some thing to eat, don't worry the food doesn't condemn you to a life among the dead. Zeus made a special circumstance for me in the name of my mother." It was odd to have such a gentle looking woman make such an innocent phrase sound like a curse but starting with "Zeus" Persephone's words were full of venom.


End file.
